Saturday, April 23, 2016

According to LDS doctrine, there was no death before the Fall. The creation was paradisiacal. There was no mortality. Death for all forms of life began when Adam fell.

During the April 2016 general conference, Dallin H. Oaks affirmed the doctrine of no death before the Fall. He said: "Adam and Eve ... made the choice that introduced mortality." (Ensign, May 2016.) "Introduce" means to bring something into operation for the first time.

In the October 1993 general conference, Dallin H. Oaks said: "It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality." (Ensign, Nov. 1993.) In this case, "initiate" means to cause something to begin.

The English definition of "mortality" is the state of being subject to death. Therefore, according to Dallin H. Oaks, there was no death before the Fall.